141–150 of 196 posts
I don't mind that Apple have saved the information on the device, what I mind is that they haven't given us an option to clear the logs or to actually visualise the data directly from the phone.
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I've actually used that device before. It's fairly common in law enforcement and inteligence agencies, and it will take everything. Including passwords/deleted info. There is no reason for using it on a traffic stop though, that's just straight up invasion of privacy and would piss me off to no end. It's use is (and should be) for the more criminal/forensic cases.
I wonder if that device utilizes some form of "law enforcement backdoor API", a phone analog of the "lawful intercept" in networking. Because frankly I don't understand how else it could retrieve previously deleted data from the phone.
So after doing a quick analysis of the data on my iPhone, I've come to the conclusion that this isn't a huge issue at all. First, I'll start with the WiFi data (WifiLocation table): Among the information captured is MAC, Timestamp, and Lat/Long. I have a total of 118,640 records in my table. I did a "SELECT DISTINCT MAC FROM WifiLocation", and got... 118,640 records. This tells me that it's not "tracking my every mov…
Location tracking on iOS devices without GPS (for example an iPod touch) sometimes works without any internet connection (it nearly always works with an internet connection – WLAN access points are used to determine the approximate location), especially in urban environments (with a lot of WLAN access points). I always figured that iOS devices download location info on all the surrounding WLAN access points (maybe ev…
That database isn't infinitely large, as unused location information will be removed as new location data comes in.
Someone should make an app for jailbroken phones to disable this location logging (or delete it regularly).. many would likely pay for it!
Interesting idea, although I actually like just injecting noise (add say 500nm to all of the co-ordinates or some such) which would basically corrupt the database that this was being injected into. On a more interesting note if you put '); droptable; into your file could you delete the receiving database? A whole new vector for SQL injection hacks I suspect.
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Perhaps you could answer a question. If the phone screen is locked will this device still gather data? I assume it will.
iTunes will happily sync with your iDevice when its screen is locked, so locking is clearly no barrier.
I wish this wasn't presented as sinister. The fact is, that phone companies store all that data for EVERY cell phone, and it's always available to government agencies and divorce attorneys after a subpoena. All this does is raise the common man's awareness , and possibly provides an afternoon of fun looking at your travel history. If you want your iphone data secret, it prompts you to encrypt your backups when you fi…
No. Given eg the police in Michigan using devices to dump phone contents on a regular basis [1], there is an enormous difference between unencrypted data on a device just sitting there and anything requiring a subpoena. [1] http://www.mobiledia.com/news/87523.html
So after doing a quick analysis of the data on my iPhone, I've come to the conclusion that this isn't a huge issue at all. First, I'll start with the WiFi data (WifiLocation table): Among the information captured is MAC, Timestamp, and Lat/Long. I have a total of 118,640 records in my table. I did a "SELECT DISTINCT MAC FROM WifiLocation", and got... 118,640 records. This tells me that it's not "tracking my every mov…
The problem is this data is being recorded without the user's knowledge or permission. (Unless it's a tiny line in the EULA I'm unaware of.) If the data is being used to help the performance of Location Based Services, there is no need to keep years worth of data, that persists, and is backed-up every time you sync. Apple could simply keep a log of the last 4 or 5 data points. Further, the data may not be super accur…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"collection of data that might conceivably expose their users' wrong-doing" So to answer his question honestly: Yes, you are implying exactly that.
No, I am not. I wrote, "Life is complicated." Turn the issue around: how would you feel if Apple bent over backwards to help your partner fuck other people behind your back and leave no trace? I don't know why I'm bothering to write this, because you seem resistant to the concept of moral subtlety, but I will anyway: Studies have been done that show that morally equivalent choices can be posed in ways that lead to pe…